LOCAL
Multi-state hepatitis A outbreak linked to blackberries
A hepatitis A virus outbreak has affected 14 people across five Midwestern states, including Minnesota, Michigan, Indiana, Nebraska, and Wisconsin. Health officials have linked the outbreak to eating fresh blackberries sold at Fresh Thyme Farmers Market grocery stores. Eight people have required hospitalization and no deaths have been reported. Illnesses started on dates ranging from October 8, 2019 to November 15, 2019, but infected individuals report eating blackberries sold between September 9 and 30, 2019. Health officials suspect reporting lag times associated with the long incubation period of the virus and confirmatory lab results.
Hepatitis A is a contagious liver infection spread through ingestion of the virus either through person-to-person contact or contaminated food. Symptoms usually occur two to seven weeks after exposure to the virus and include jaundice, lethargy, nausea, or fever. Some people may not show symptoms. Most people recover and do not have long term liver damage, but liver failure and death are possible in elderly or immunocompromised people, including those with pre-existing chronic liver disease.
The United States Food and Drug Administration warns that freezing does not kill the virus and that people who bought blackberries from Fresh Thyme Farmers Market stores during September should not eat the berries and should throw them away. The FDA also recommends that people who ate blackberries should talk to their physicians about whether a post-exposure vaccine is necessary.
NATIONAL
Animal cruelty now a federal crime
Last week, United States lawmakers signed into law a bipartisan bill that makes animal cruelty a federal crime. Florida Congressmen Ted Deutch (D) and Vern Buchanan (R) introduced the initiative in January 2019, building on the 2010 Animal Crush Video Prohibition Act, which criminalized the creation and sale of animal crush videos for profit. This is any photograph or recording that depicts gruesome acts of animal cruelty, specifically the torture and death of small vertebrate animals. The acts of cruelty themselves remained legal.
The new law, H.R. 724 Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture Act (PACT), received unanimous support and bans the intentional crushing, drowning, impalement, suffocation, sexual exploitation, and other serious bodily harm to living non-human animals, including mammals, reptiles, birds, and amphibians. Criminal penalties will include federal felony charges, fines, and/or up to seven years in prison.
Previously, each state had its own law with state-specific definitions of animal cruelty and state-specific penalties. PACT will provide federal justification to bypass state laws in prosecuting cruelty cases that span states and jurisdictions. Law enforcement groups also support this measure, citing links between animal cruelty and domestic violence.
INTERNATIONAL
Fatal attacks at Congolese Ebola response centers thwart containment efforts
Last Thursday, Mai Mai militia fighters attacked two Ebola response centers in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, killing four people and injuring six others. This is the worst attack since the outbreak was announced in August 2018, adding to the 386 violent attacks against health care workers that have hampered Ebola response and containment efforts in the country. Among the dead are a vaccination team member, two drivers, and a police officer. No staff members from the World Health Organization (WHO) were killed.
In many cases, militia fighters and local residents either do not believe that Ebola exists or they are angry that they have not financially benefited from the surge of international aid. The attacks have interrupted containment efforts and come at a time when health officials say Ebola had finally been retreating, sparking concerns that new infections could resurge with suspended Ebola response activities in high risk areas.
These interrupted activities have caused a decrease in vaccination, contact tracing, and health alerts. WHO, UNICEF, and Congolese health authorities evacuated about 160 staff working on Ebola, and the World Food Programme has halted its efforts. The International Federation of Red Cross also suspended its operations in Mangina, Beni, and Butembo.
Food Safety News
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Lauren Bernstein
Lauren received her BS in Animal Science from the University of Tennessee. Following a Rotary International site visit to South Africa as an undergraduate student, she decided to focus her prospective veterinary career on public health, specifically on issues involving diseases at the human-animal-environment interface. She completed her veterinary education at the University College Dublin, School of Veterinary Medicine. When she's not in the office, she enjoys yoga, embracing the outdoor activities in Minneapolis, and finding excuses to talk about her rescue cat.